The present invention relates to a muzzle brake for a firearm, and in particular to a muzzle brake adapted to strip a sabot from about an associated projectile.
Muzzle brakes are utilized with firearms in a wide variety of applications, such as flash and sound suppression as well as recoil dampening. These muzzle brakes typically include a plurality of holes extending from an inner cavity of the muzzle brake to an outer surface thereof and are designed to redirect gases caused by the ignition of a charge within the firearm.
Other kinds of muzzle attachments have focused on separating a sabot, or plastic housing, from about an associated projectile as the projectile travels through the attachment. Heretofore, these muzzle attachments have been directed at the concept of completely separating the sabot from the projectile prior to the projectile and sabot exiting the muzzle attachment. While these prior designs were effective for stripping the sabot from about the associated projectile, they are incompatible with today""s modern firearms and ammunitions. Specifically, by causing the sabot to completely separate from the associated projectile while the projectile and sabot are still located within the muzzle brake, fragments of the sabot can disintegrate and lodge within the interior of the muzzle attachment, thereby rendering the muzzle attachment useless with respect to flash and noise suppression as well as recoil dampening, while causing the firearm to experience a severe degradation in accuracy, and causing mechanical failure of the muzzle brake.
A mechanism is therefore needed that combines the functions of a muzzle brake, such as noise and flash suppression as well as recoil dampening, with the function of stripping a sabot from an associated projectile, while simultaneously insuring the reliable operation of the muzzle brake and not causing a degradation in accuracy.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide a firearm muzzle brake for utilization with a projectile surrounded by a sabot, wherein the muzzle brake includes an outer housing, a baffle received within the housing and having a bore extending therethrough, and an inner core received within the bore of the baffle and having a bore extending therethrough. The bore of the core has a first section having a diameter that is adapted to allow the sabot to partially tear away from an associated projectile as the projectile and sabot travel through the first section of the bore of the core, and a second section having a second diameter that is adapted to hold the sabot separated from the longitudinal body of the projectile, while supporting the projectile""s base, as the projectile travels through the second section of the bore of the core.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a firearm for delivering a projectile surround by a sabot, the firearm including a barrel having a longitudinally extending bore adapted to receive a projectile surrounded by a sabot, and a muzzle brake attached to the barrel and adapted to receive the projectile and the sabot therefrom. The muzzle brake includes an outer housing, a baffle received within the housing and having a bore extending therethrough, and an inner core received within the bore of the baffle and having a bore extending therethrough. The bore of the core has a first section having a diameter that is adapted to allow the sabot to partially tear away from the associated projectile as the projectile and the sabot travel through the first section of the bore of the core, and a second section having a second diameter that is adapted to hold the sabot separated from the longitudinal body of the projectile, while supporting the projectile""s base, as the projectile travels through the second section of the bore of the core.
These and other advantages of the invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following written specification, claims, and appended drawings.